Studio News
New 2023 Designer Rug and Runner Launch: Sonia and Sonya
We are so excited to share with you the launch of another new design in 2023: The ‘Sonia and Sonya’ rug and runner.
With their shared love of vibrant colours, geometric shapes, and dynamic patterns, Sonya Winner has found inspiration in iconic artist Sonia Delaunay to create these beautiful modern art rugs.
Who was Sonia Delaunay?
Born in 1885 Ukraine, Sonia Delaunay was an iconic French artist and a key figure in the development of abstract art and avant-garde movements in the early 20th century. Her pioneering use of colour and abstraction was truly innovative, known by her vibrant hues, dynamic geometric shapes, and rhythmic compositions.
She embraced multiple art forms, including textiles, fashion, and interior design, and sought to dissolve the boundaries between fine art and everyday life. Delaunay’s contemporary approach to art and her contributions to the intersection design continue to inspire and influence artists to this day, such as in Sonya Winner’s new launch: The ‘Sonia and Sonya’ rug and runner.
Rythme (Rhythm), mural painting by Sonia Delaunay
The art history behind Sonia Delaunay’s work
Sonia Delaunay and her husband, Robert Delaunay.
Alongside her husband Robert Delaunay, she co-founded the art movement Orphism, which aimed to evoke emotion through color and form. Orphism sought to engage viewers in a sensory experience, evoking a spiritual response through abstract art.
Although Sonia and her husband have been said to have co-founded it, it could be said that Sonia Delany was more talented than her husband and that she is the driving force behind the movement. However, due to the context of gender roles at the time, men were often promoted more than their wives and Robert’s work overshadowed Sonia’s individual contributions. This is similar to the story of Joesph and Anne Albers – which you can read more on through a previous blog post here.
Efforts to promote and recognize the achievements of women artists, including Sonia Delaunay, have been ongoing, aiming to challenge and rectify historical imbalances in the art world.
Design 1044, fabric sample, Metz & Co by Sonia Delaunay
Sonia Delaunay and Sonya Winner
Sharing the same name is not the only common factor between these 2 female designers!
Sonya (Winner) rug designer found herself hugely inspired by Sonia Delaunay over the years. So it was an easy choice to create a series of new designs inspired by Sonia the Great, as Sonya likes to refer to her as. The end result is the ‘Sonia and Sonya Rug and Runner’ from Sonya Winner Rug Studio to be officially launched in September 2023.
The seeds of this new design began after Sonya visited the exhibition at the Barbican ‘Modern Couples: Art, Intimacy and the Avant-garde’ (2018). This sparked Sonya’s fascination with Delaunay’s dynamic shapes and colours and also lead to Sonya’s research about the late artist, coming across a number of interesting books about her life and the influence she had on modern art.
Here are some of our favourites:
‘Sonia Delaunay: Art, Design, Fashion’ by Marta Ruiz del Arbol
This book provides a unified vision of the modernist pioneer’s work in painting, theatrical sets, advertising, interiors, fashion and textiles.
‘Sonia Delaunay’ by Anne Montfort and Cecile Godefroy
With over 250 illustrations and ground-breaking essays by prominent curators and art historians, this publication seeks to throw new light on the multifaceted work of this prolific artist.
Sonya and her design process
When designing a new rug, Sonya experiments and sketches multiple versions or variations often using modern art as inspiration. The early exploration sketches are freeform and allow many avenues to be investigated. Once interesting routes into a design possibility are found these are then refined. The early stage of design exploration are critical and can not be fast tracked…. Spending enough time on these initial operations results in unique and exciting new work being created!
Here, Sonya is documented sketching some first ideas of the ‘Sonia and Sonya Runner’ designs, using coloured pen and paper. Sonya often experiments with multiple forms of media in the initial design stages including digital and analog works. This is because the layering of different mediums create a varied effect on the colours depending on what is used. Experimenting with new mediums continues Sonya’s story and her passion for colour and colour mixing. She see her rugs as ‘her experiments in colour’ which continue to teach her to discover more about colours and how your eye perceives them.
The Sonia and Sonya Runner has 31 hand dyed colours and the rug has 39. These unique modern rugs merge the realms of colourful abstraction and practical design, resulting in exquisite ‘underfoot artworks’, transforming everyday floors into galleries full of creativity.
To find out more about the journey our rugs take from design to creation, learn more here.
The Sonia and Sonya rug by Sonya Winner
The Sonia and Sonya Runner by Sonya Winner
If you’re feeling inspired by these luxury art rugs please read more about them here, and even have them visualised in your space free of charge! To find more information about our digital visualisation service, view here.
Explore the rest of our colourful collection by visiting our Vibrant Contemporary Rug Shop and re-imagine your space to be eye-catching and bold.
